102 STRATIOMYIDiE 



Legs black and orange ; tlie black parts being the base of the coxae, a ring 

 on the middle third of the front f emoi'a, the apical half of the posterior femora 

 except the tip, a small incomplete ring about the middle of the front tibiee 

 which is extended outside down to the tip, most of the posterior tibiae except 

 the base and tip and under side, all the front tarsi and all the posterior tarsi 

 except the two basal joints, though many of these parts are only darkened 

 instead of being black. Pubescence very slight and inconspicuous, but there 

 are a few pale hairs behind the anterior femora. 



Wings hyaline, stigma pale yellowish brown, and the anterior veins darker 

 brownish yellow ; the two submarginal cells together are about as long as the 

 stigma, and if the veins themselves be included those two cells are almost 

 equally long on the costa, but the open part of the second cell is shorter than 

 that of the first. Squamae small ; margin blackish brown or blackish with a 

 pale fringe. Halteres bright canary yellow or orange. 



$ . Frons fully one-third the width of the head, shining black with the lower two- 

 thirds of the sides yellowish white and very gradually widening downwards 



but not touching the eyemargins on their 

 upper part, and on the face these sides 

 become more whitish and are continued all 

 the way down, leaving the middle of the face 

 sharply black, while the whitish sides are 

 connected under the eyes by a narrow streak 

 with the whitish yellow postocular band, and 

 this band is narrower than usual and allows 

 the black back of the head to be seen when 

 viewed sideways ; this postocular band ter- 

 minates just after the upper corner of the 

 eye, widening a little and sometimes becom- 

 ing more orange on the, upper part. Pubes- 

 FiG.ue.—Oxycera Morrisii <}. x 27. cence on the frons and face very slight, 



short, and inconspicuous, but on the lower 

 part of the back of the head longer and more obvious. 



Thorax with very much shorter ptibescence and consequently more shining ; 

 the yellow side lines larger and more conspicuous. 



Abdomen with scarcely any pubescence. Belly yellow with large black 

 spots on the sides of each segment, or even more black than that. 



Legs with the darkened part of the anterior femora more brownish, and on 

 the hind femora more restricted. 

 Length about 4 mm. 



This species seems to vary but little unless in the amount of darkening 

 on the femora and tibise. I believe the male has never been previously 

 described. It has no known close allies, as its forked cubital vein, its 

 extensively black scutellum and legs, and its isolated whitish j'ellow 

 abdominal spots easily distinguish it. 



0. Morrisii is a rather rare species, but occurs in marshy places in so 

 many widely separated localities that I expect it only requires favorable 

 conditions. I have records from Cornwall (Padstow, C. G.Lamb), Dorset 

 (Lyme Eegis, Curtis, Glanville's Wootton and Charmouth, J. C. Dale), 

 Essex (Abbey Wood), Cambs (Wicken Fen, not uncommon in July 1875), 

 Hereford (Pembridge, Colonel Yerbury), and Durham (Castle Eden 

 Dene, J. C. Dale), while it was probably near Belfast that Haliday 

 repeatedly took it when he found and described (Nat. Hist. Eeview, 1857, 

 p. 193) what he believed to be the larva. My dates only extend from 

 July 4 to July 25. It is at present recorded from only England and 

 (probably) Ireland. 



7. O. terminata Meigen. Cubital vein forked. Abdomen black with 

 only the tip yellow. Wings without any dark cloud about the middle. 



